B-H oh, so close to upset

MARSHALL — Bismarck-Henning was six seconds from a trip to the Class 2A quarterfinals.

Then Marshall snatched it away with a desperation pass that took an unlucky bounce for the Blue Devils.

With B-H leading 15-14, the Lions had possession on their own 42-yard line with time for one more play. Quarterback Jacob Duncan unloaded a pass toward the end zone that was tipped by teammate Shaun Ahlers and then grabbed by Marshall's Andre Strohm for the game-winning touchdown as time ran out.

"It's devastating," coach Mark Dodd said of the ending to his Blue Devils' 20-15 loss in the second round. B-H (9-2) entered the fourth quarter in a 14-0 hole but dug out of it with a pair of drives capped by scoring runs of 2 and 1 yard by Reed Collins. The second TD came with 17 seconds left.

Rather than settle for a tie, Dodd opted to go for a two-point conversion. When quarterback Krystian Ingram connected with Adam Baker on a scoring pass, the Blue Devils led 15-14.

"It was just such an amazing job of coming back," Dodd said. "(Until then), we hadn't done anything offensively all day."

Then the ball bounced in favor of Marshall (11-0).

"We were in a prevent type of defense," Dodd said, "and there was a tipped ball that went off a helmet, and their guy made a diving catch. They made a great play. I can't fault our kids. It's unfortunate that it ended that way, but that's the way it works.

"Really, it was a whole emotional swing. I thought we might have (the win) and it was done. Give credit to Marshall; they never quit."

Kevin Allen rushed for 95 yards for B-H. Sam Shoaf led the Blue Devils' defense with 15 tackles, including three for loss.

In Class 1A:

Concord Triopia 21, GCMS 0. The Falcons, who scored 30 or more points in eight games this season, ran into a defensive wall at Don Kemp Field in Concord. Unbeaten Triopia (11-0) handed GCMS its second shutout of the season to end the Falcons' playoff run.

GCMS (8-3) was limited to 110 yards' total offense, with 84 coming through the air by quarterback Zach Kirby. Triopia's defense, which recorded 66 yards in tackles for loss, held the Falcons to a net ground total of 26 yards.

Led by Derrek Schone (109 yards rushing), Triopia gained 200 of its 240 yards on the ground.

Jordyn Schultz had a game-high 10 tackles for the Falcons, while Aaron Thomason and J.J. Gardner added nine apiece.